RACE TO THE FINISH LINE

SIX weeks is a mighty long election campaign. A six-week campaign asks a lot of the candidates and their teams, as well as voters. Throw in interruptions such as Easter, school holidays and Anzac Day to distract voters, and some can find it hard to remain engaged for the duration of the campaign.

Just when some voters were starting to show signs of election fatigue, locals joined others across the country to be among the first to head to the ballot as pre-poll voting kicked off on Monday.

Most of the major candidates in the ultra-marginal Corangamite electorate were out at the Torquay pre-poll booth to try to sway voters at the last minute. If the 100 people surveyed by the Geelong Advertiser are any indication, Corangamite could be on track for the same result as 2019, with the ALP receiving slightly more first preference votes than the government in our exit poll.

But as we begin our approach to the finish line, and the opportunities to sway those all-important undecided voters start to dry up, there will be even more focus on the performance of party leaders, including the prospective prime ministers.

It is hard to believe Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese’s performance at Sunday night’s televised debate would have instilled confidence in any undecided voter.

Those who tuned in to get a clearer picture on policy, were instead greeted by a performance of bad manners.

With less than two weeks to election day and early voters already heading to the ballots, opportunities to reach those crucial undecided and swinging voters cannot afford to be wasted in this manner.